SA: “As a Democratic Socialist, I personally believe the way to address the issues that we currently face is to recognize the fundamental role that government must play in improving the lives of our citizens,” Vandeveer said. “Now is the time for bold action — the time to refresh the revolution and renew our historical role as the party of ideas and principles.”

KITV: 1-on-1 interview with Hawaii State Hospital escapee Randall Saito He went on to mention he's not the monster doctors paint him out to be. Saying he's a typical guy who's even been married twice during his stay at the hospital. (Is that on top of the three sex partners or are they counted among the two wives? And how many of these 3-5 are UPW and HGEA members?)

AP: …Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Hawaii State Department of Health, told the AP last year the majority of those who escape are returned within a few days. However in 2009 one person escaped and was missing for nearly three years before being arrested.

And on Dec. 3, 2009, David True Seal, who was committed to the state mental facility in April 2002 after his acquittal by reason of insanity for the kidnapping and attempted rape of an 8-year-old girl on Maui, scaled a 14-foot-high wire mesh fence at the hospital and escaped.

Seal made his way to the Big Island and lived under an alias for almost four years before fatally stabbing his high school friend, 32-year-old Rory Wick, on Nov. 5, 2013, at Wick’s home in Puna’s Eden Roc subdivision. As “Serif Swaim”, Seal took martial arts lessons from Kobukan Kendo Club at the county’s Waiakea Recreation Center in Hilo. Two police officers were among the students in the class.

Seal pleaded no contest to manslaughter for the slaying of Wick, an artist, teacher and father of three, and was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison….

“How did he get a backpack? How did he get a cell phone? How did he get money? How did he get that plane charter to go to Maui? How did he get on a Hawaiian Airlines flight to San Jose?” asked Radke.

We stopped by Koolau Clubhouse, a community center that caters to individuals with mental illness, which Saito had access to. They refused to answer specific questions about Saito.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association union would not comment on the seven state hospital employees who were suspended without pay following Saito’s escape.

A source confirms the suspended workers include nurses and technicians.

“If there’s a safety and security problem with keeping people on the property, that’s something not related to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). It’s related to safety, security, and administration. That’s the Department of Health. That’s the governor, to the Department of Health, to the administrators of the hospital, to the employees of the hospital,” said Radke….

HTH: …Hawaii police officers are getting raises, the last large bargaining group to have salaries settled for this year as the county begins crafting a new budget for the next fiscal year that begins July 1, 2018.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) contract includes a 2 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2017, followed by a 2.25 percent increase next year, then 2 percent raises each year for the following two years. Bonuses and firearm allowance increases round out the package.

It will cost the county an extra $19.9 million during the four years of the contract. There are 419 police employees currently covered by the contract.

Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe forwarded a resolution Thursday seeking County Council agreement to pay for the raises. The issue should come up for council vote at its Dec. 6 meeting.

Okabe, who’s been the county point man on union negotiations this year, said Hawaii County officials are meeting in Honolulu next week with fellow county and state employers to review implementation of the union contracts and determine impacts on state and local governments….

Parents claim students reprimanded for speaking up after bleach attack

KHON: …A parent, who did not want to be identified, says her daughter and others tried to speak to at least two of the school’s vice principals about their concerns.

“From my understanding, the young lady had from since the summer been carrying the bleach, and voiced that she had bleach and that she would use the bleach.”

The parent says her daughter and others reached out to the administration, but nothing was done.

“The children did go to two of the VPs. That’s what they’re told to do. The VPs are in place to get to the principal. They tried to go through the proper channels. Nothing was done through those channels, so then they wrote the letter, which resulted in them being, receiving a consequence for their actions.”

The letter she’s referring to was addressed to the principal. The students had expressed concerns about the punishment handed down to the girl who used the bleach.

But parents say after writing the letter, students were told not to come back to class on Monday.

The reason: “Because they used their school email to send this letter out to the administration, the parents, and students.”….

(Hmmm. Could DoE bureaucrats be guilty of interference with a police investigation? Felony obstruction of justice? Witness intimidation? Hmmmm.)

KHON: Stolen buses, missing money, and a massive project way past due. Hawaii County mass transit is in disarray….

Our visit to the island started at the mass transit baseyard, which now looks more like a bus graveyard. The fleet that once numbered more than 50 buses has been hobbled by about half.

The county is paying for private tour buses to help.

“When we have buses that are down, we contract private people to do that,” said county managing director Wil Okabe. “It comes about to maybe $1,000 to $5,700 a month to rent from these two companies to assist us in achieving our objective.”

That’s on top of your fixed costs for the county regardless.

Oahu hand-me-down buses are being salvaged for parts.

Gleaming by comparison amid the rubble, a double-decker bus didn’t run for long before being idled a year and a half ago awaiting a part. Beyond all repair sits the burnt carcass of a $70,000 fleet repair truck stolen just after purchase and found torched in Fern Forest months before the two-time big bus heists…..

the still unsolved disappearance of thousands of dollars in cash fares in spring 2016 from a closet in the transit office.

“This is the door they came through that was wedged open and made their way through the offices where we kept our keys and got ahold of the keys and unlocked the bolts to this door,” Kai said.

Always Investigating asked, did they know where to get the keys from? (Because they work there. Duh.)

County police investigated, but came away with no leads, no arrests. Sources say it could have been as much as $10,000; management says it was less — anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000….

The county auditor has started a cash management audit of mass transit. The auditor couldn’t disclose to us yet what she’s found so far….

The biggest impact from all of these issues is service. There have been hundreds of thousands of rides lost in recent years, and we found out that’s having a big impact on the poor and rural areas….

PBN: …economist Paul Brewbaker opened the summit with hard numbers showing how few homes have been built in Hawaii in the past 40 years, noting that in 1973, there were 13,000 new homes built in Hawaii. He pointed out that would amount to nearly all the homes combined in Hoopili and Koa Ridge — two projects that only recently started after years of delays and are expected to take 10 or more years to build out.

“Until 1975, when Hawaii’s land-use law was amended, about 4.5 percent of the state’s housing stock was added each year,” Brewbaker said. “We build less than 1 percent of the existing housing stock every year.”

Brewbaker’s solution to the regulation and permitting logjam cited by developers and builders is to switch to a rules-based permitting policy instead of the discretionary policies in place.

Brewbaker told Pacific Business News that, for example, a county could set up a simple rule entitling 10,000 units of housing to be built in a year, or allowing as many units as can be built within a mile of a train station.

HNN: …City Councilmembers spent hours hearing testimony from those both for and against two measures on the large properties.

The first would have put a moratorium on all large-scale homes in residential neighborhoods.

It was deferred while the council awaits new recommendations.

But a resolution to *limit the floor area" of a single-family home is still alive.

Opponents of the bills say they would stifle efforts underway to put more affordable housing in older neighborhoods.

"Think about Kakaako area, all those new-built condos," said Kaimuki resident Ninjin Miao. "Can an ordinary working-class afford those condos? They cannot. And the solution is buying ohana housing, all the multi-generational family live in one house and I don’t see any problem with that."….

Right now, Community Outreach Court is held twice a month at Hawaii's First Circuit Court. It's designed to help homeless people charged with non-violent, non-felony offenses clean up their records so they can get back on track.

Social workers identify those who would be good candidates, and much of the work is done before they even step into the courtroom.

"The public defender will review all of their cases and approach the prosecuting attorney, and then they'll decide whether they can come to a plea agreement and bring it before the court," Deputy Chief Court Administrator Calvin Ching said.

As of August, 347 cases had been cleared. So far, about half of the participants have completed their sentences by performing community service.

Tina Matthews was at court because of multiple citations for camping in a park.

"Ms. Matthews has done her community service successfully. Based on that performance, the state would ask to dismiss case number eight, " said the public defender.

The judge dismissed that charge, along with several others.

On top of cleaning up her record, the program is giving her a chance at housing – and helping her kick her addiction to meth…..

KGI: …no one is better at getting around the island to events than the mayor. He, like TGI’s Dennis Fujimoto, seems to be everywhere at one time.

While some might question what exactly he has accomplished as mayor, we believe the mayor’s vision to create a better Kauai is coming to fruition. He encourages people to live well and live healthy. He calls on them to take care of the aina and to take care of ohana. He wants people to live aloha.

Those things are happening and Carvalho’s influence should not be overlooked.

SA: With opposing sides squaring off over whether to ban petroleum-based polystyrene foam food containers, a City Council committee has deferred a bill that requires vendors to switch to compostable. Supporters argue that Bill 71 is needed to better protect Oahu’s environmental health. Opponents counter that foam is cheaper, and the state lacks a recycling facility for compostables.